Magi: Rise of the Painted Ones
by mastermind123
Summary: Years before the events of Lady Gyokuen nearly causing an apocalyptic calamity, the agents of Al-Thamen had slain an old foe, whom they'd once considered the closest of allies. Now their old foes have returned for vengence, and Al-Thamen, for all their resources, will never be prepared for what is yet to come. ((Set to M for adult content))
1. Prologue

**This majority of this story takes place directly after the events of the end of the second season of Magi. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I'm enjoying writing it.**

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Prologue

The desert air was dry and hot as winds blew bits of dust and sand into the hooded man's face. He was dressed all in black and his robes blew softly in the desert breeze. A cough escaped his throat as he looked up and around before removing a map from a pouch on his person and studying it carefully. Looking from side to side, he only sees endless sand dunes on both ends, before turning around and noticing that the wind had already blown most of his footprints away. The man sighed to himself before looking up into the sky and refolding the map, then pocketing it and judging the time of day to be late afternoon.

Sighing again he picked up his pace once more and trudged on in the ocean of sand once more, reaching behind his back and slinging a large scythe into a more comfortable position so that it would stop dragging on the ground. The whistling of the desert winds made it difficult to hear the world around him, something the hooded man did not appreciate. Bandits had been known to roam these areas and he did not wish to bloody his hands any more than he had to at this point. As if on cue an arrow suddenly flew just before his nose, causing the man to duck and dive for the ground as more arrows flew overhead.

Horses could be heard approaching from the surrounding hills as well as their individual riders shouting commands. The hooded man cursed to himself as he loosened his scythe from its sheath and vaulted up to his feet. A rider shrouded in cloth pulled a medium length blade from his flowing garments and charged at him, shouting at the top of his lungs. The hooded man sighed and ran at the horseman and ducked ever so slightly out of the way when the blade came down across his hood, as he reached back with his scythe and dragged it violently across the horse's legs, cutting off the front two and launching its rider head first into the sand before the screaming and convulsing horse toppled on top of him. Two more bandits came up behind the first one but waved off when they saw their comrade be crushed by the beast. One of them pulled up a bow and reached behind his shoulder into his quiver.

The hooded man reached up one of his sleeves and pulled out several small spherical objects and threw them as hard as he could both at his feet and the surrounding sand dunes. The spheres exploded in clouds of smoke, shrouding the man in a cloud of fog. The riders both stopped and gathered back with one another, cursing to each other in quiet annoyed tones. Suddenly a flash in the sunlight could be seen as three small throwing knives could be seen flying quickly out of the fog, hitting the chest of one of the men on horseback. The second one swore audibly before jumping off his horse and pulling two arrows out of his quiver and yanking the draw string back in time to see the hooded man charging at him again with his blooded up scythe in hand. The bandit fired the two arrows straight into the man's chest but they had no effect at all as he closed the distance so rapidly that the scythe was buried deep in the bandit's body and lifting him off of the ground before he had time to reach for his own blade on his hip side. The hooded man grunted like a rabid animal as he hoisted the bandit over his shoulder and threw him into the now dissipating cloud of smoke.

Breathing deeply at the peace that he now had once more the hooded man removed the hood revealing an aged face with white hair, pale white skin and unnatural red eyes that could easily bore into the soul of any man that dared to cross him. He sat on his knees and began tugging at the arrows lodged inside of his body. Towards his back and unseen by him, a lone cloaked figure in black and white robes stood silently in the desert wind. His red eyes pierced through his black mask as locks of green hair on each side of his face flowed effortlessly down his shoulders. The cloth over the figures face flowed softly whenever the man would exhale as he stood with a weapon similar to that of the hooded man's, aside from the fact that the blade on the standing figure's staff was a similar shape to that of the mask he wore.

The albino man ripped out the first arrow with a grunt and then began to tug on the second one while the standing figure waved his hand and the breeze of the desert winds stopped immediately. He turned his head slightly and frowned to himself, gripping his scythe again and launching himself up in an attempt to strike at the masked figure.

"Heretic! Jashin will offer you no mercy Ithnan!" screamed the albino man, clearly recognizing the masked figure. The masked man's eyes narrowed slightly before he jumped back and pulled the cloth down from his face, revealing a young man's skin and jawline as well as a small patch of facial hair just on his chin. He laughed warmly at the albino's words as he motioned in the air, causing the albino man to turn and see two more similarly clothed men floating in the air, who's faces were wholly covered by the piece of cloth. One of them raised his hands, causing the breeze to pick up again and sand to be blown everywhere.

"Listen to yourself old man. Your merciless Jashin is nothing more than a fairy tale you told us all when you roamed the world all those years ago before Solomon. But look at you now; what is your pathetic deity doing for you now?" asked Ithnan. The albino man snarled in rage as he swung his scythe and cut a hole in the forced desert wind and charged at his grounded opponent. However as he got closer and closer to Ithnan his vision slowly became hazy; feeling his whole body weight shift and turn along his path, the albino man tripped and fell, skidding his way to Ithnan's feet.

"Wh-what is this!?" screamed the albino man in very slurred words. Ithnan laughed audibly looking down at the albino man.

"It is the culmination of years of research into finding something that can bring even someone like _you_ to their very knees. Here let it be known that even the roaming prophet of Jashin is not invincible as the mythos claims you are. You, like King Solomon, are my destiny my prophet, and now, to prove that we are the true way forward, I will kill you here and now." answered Ithnan. The prophet's eyes narrowed as he looked into Ithnan, for it was now his turn to laugh.

"Kill me? Do you understand the fallacy of your words Ithnan? NOTHING in this world can kill me. If there were something that could, I would have found it by now." answered the prophet. Ithnan was soon joined by the two figures that were floating above earlier.

"We will truly see today won't we prophet." claimed Ithnan before removing a large dagger, the handle of which had an insignia of an inverted equilateral triangle inside of a circle engraved into its center. "How beautiful the irony must be from your eyes." said Ithnan before the two adjoining cloaked figures slammed the prophet in the ribs with their staffs, making sure not to stop before they each heard a satisfying fleshy crunch. The prophet grunted at the strikes but did not give the men the satisfaction of a scream that he knew that these men were craving. Ithnan's lips formed a smile as the prophet urged his body to obey his commands but failed tragically. "Where is your precious Jashin now prophet?" gloated Ithnan as the prophet reached into his own robes with his last bit of strength and pulled out a pendent matching the insignia engraved in Ithnan's blade.

"If you think that I am the only one of my kind then you are wrong." said the prophet, his words slightly muffled by the wind and the sand. Ithnan cocked his head to the side and sneered as he picked the prophet's face out of the sand to get a better earful.

"What are you mumbling about old man?" asked Ithnan.

"I….am not….the only Painted." snarled the prophet, spitting blood into Ithnan's face, causing him to be stabbed through his chest with the ceremonial dagger. "And I….am NOT….the only priest in the making. There…..there will be more…and they will be even more fierce….than even I could bear to imagine." Ithnan frowned and leaned in close to the prophet.

"Let them come. We will bury them right beside you, old man." said Ithnan, removing the blade and raising it above his head. The prophet looked up to the sky and closed his eyes, as he heard the pendent around his neck jingle softly in the breeze.

"All praise our merciless Lord Jashin. May He guide us with His enlightening flames. May His gifts of pain blaze into our hears and bring us ever closer to being one of His own. May the blasphemous cries of mercy fall upon our deaf ears, for they had their chances to see Your Will. They had the chances to indulge in our practices in Your name and yet they now turn their backs upon You. May they all experience suffering at Your merciless hands most unholy Lord Jashin. May we all cheer in victory in the very end when your new children sacrifice these heretical sheep to You. In your name, your next generation of children stand at the ready." prayed the prophet. Ithnan paused and allowed him to continue the entirety of the prayer before screaming at the top of his lungs and bringing the blade down across the prophet's neck and slashing with full strength. The prophet gagged and chocked as his head was ripped clean from his body and his blood spurted everywhere, turning the desert sands into a deep shade of crimson red. Ithnan picked up the head of the prophet and stared into the eyes that still burned with life. "May all of you heretics burn in Lord Jashin's fires. Your ways will fail, and you…will…..burn." said the prophet's severed head ever so calmly. Ithnan's eyes narrowed as the severed head practically spat the words at him. True the rumors of the prophet's immortality were true but Ithnan had no idea that they were even to this extent.

With a wave of the staff from one of his accomplices, a large hole was formed in the ground, the eyes of the severed head looking towards it. Ithnan blinked at the head a few more times as it blinked back before tossing it into the bottom before picking up his staff and hacking off the arms and the legs of the body of the prophet and casting them in shortly after.

"All good things to those who've waited old man, and our Father has waited for an exceptionally long time. When he comes to this world, we will truly see who's power outweighs the other's." gloated Ithnan once more, flicking his staff towards the hole and causing massive amounts of earth and sand into the hole. The prophet closed his eyes as a small tear trickled down his face as bits of rock crashed against his forehead before the rest of the walls collapsed on top of his dismembered body.

"Oh, most unholy Lord Jashin, I relinquish the gifts that you have bestowed upon me. I do not see how I will have any use of them from here on. It is time for the next generation of children to come to this world. It is time for them to solidify Your Will in this new world of Solomon's creation." said the prophet.

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Judal clenched his fist tightly around the swarm of black rhuk and smiled sadistically. He and Hakuryuu stared aimlessly at the sight before them as the weaning clouds in the sky, floating like clouds and staring down at the scene of victory that lay before them.

"Alright, I think we're done here." said Judal triumphantly and softly gazing towards Hakuryuu.

"Right." responded Hakuryuu, allowing the coastal winds to blow his hair, as well as the loose bits of cloth with his djinn equip form, in soft swaying motions. "Aladdin, Morgiana, Alibabba…..I have chosen to turn my back on all of you." he continued, his face showing nothing more than a perpetually blank expression. "I hope you'll forgive me; farewell to you." he said as a large eight pointed star surrounded by a circle suddenly appeared behind he and Judal and consumed the both of them in a flash of light.

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 **Here's the first of many chapters to come and I hope you all enjoyed it and I hope to see some reviews.  
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	2. Shachath

**As I've seen from the amount of traffic on the prologue, I can tell that this was a pretty good idea so far. So with that in mind I give you the first legitimate chapter in this story. I hope you enjoy it.**

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Chapter 1

The teleportation spell brought Judal and Hakuryuu to a vast ocean with roaring tides. The clouds were once again grey and depressing as thunder clapped in the skies and small droplets of rain fell and gently kissed the cheeks of both the boys. Judal seemed to be confused as he looked around and sneered at the surrounding environment.

"What the hell? This isn't the palace." he said, taking out his metal wand and twirling it in his fingers as if he were thinking of something. Hakuryuu stared and slightly frowned as he too began looking around and examining the roaring ocean below. The skies shrouded most of the light around them, giving the tides an eerie sensation of night despite the fact that they both knew it was well into the day time. Off in the distance it seemed that a mass of fog and rain began covering an area of the seas and was beginning to blow towards them from the gale force winds as the waves below began increasing in size. As Hakuryuu looked more closely, not only were the tips of the waves turned white but they also began curling and crashing upon themselves. A sudden flash of thunder revealed a towering structure well inside the boundaries of the storm, causing Hakuryuu's eyes to narrow slightly.

"What was that?" he asked aimlessly, looking at Judal and seeing that he'd been turned around. Turning his head he gave Hakuryuu a look of pompous pride as he floated over and ruffled Hakuryuu's hair.

"Why that is a storm my fine poorly witted prince." said Judal, smiling and cackling softly to himself. Hakuryuu sighed and brushed Judal's hand off of his head and pointed his spear into the confines of the storm.

"No I mean the structure inside the storm. It looked like a dungeon." responded Hakuryuu. Judal stopped and looked into the storm, squinting hard as another flash of lightning followed by a clap of thunder briefly illuminated the structure of a large tower standing off in the distance.

"Impossible, I didn't leave any dungeons out here." said Judal, placing his hands on his hips and tapping his thigh with the tip of his wand.

"Perhaps you created it and forgot its location?" said Hakuryuu.

"Absolutely not, I know the locations of all the dungeons I brought into this plane of existence. I would have remembered if I placed one all the way out here. Something about this just doesn't make any sense, I want to know why that dungeon is there right now." said Judal, gritting his teeth and beginning to fly towards the structure. Hakuryuu sighed and pursued Judal, ending up parallel to him in seconds. The winds became much fiercer as the rain's volume increased. It did not take long for the two of them to be soaked to the bone. The waves became higher, some of them reaching somewhat close to the two men as they became easily lost in the low visibility. Another flash of lightning revealed that the two were very off with their sense of direction as they had apparently passed the tower. Hakuryuu heard Judal swear openly as he rushed off in the direction of the tower as it disappeared into the storm once more. The rain drops pelted Judal's bare skin as he flew at top speed, causing him to grit his teeth both in pain and frustration. Hakuryuu was once again right beside Judal before another flash of lightning showed that the tower was too far to the right of them. Changing directions they both saw that the tower was then farther off to the left when another flash of lightning lit up the area.

"What gives with this dungeon?" asked Judal, more to himself than Hakuryuu.

"Perhaps it holds something of great value Judal." shouted Hakuryuu over the roaring tides and winds.

"If that's the case then I want it!" shouted Judal, raising his wand and splitting the rains and clouds all the way to the suspected direction of the tower. As the clouds began to part, the dungeon stood tall, covered in a sickly green algae at its base from all of the oceanic contact over the years. Various cracks and chips could be seen along the tower wall and the doors looked as if the sea spray had robbed them of their original majesty as rust and various stains could be seen covering their total surfaces.

Judal and Hakuryuu landed on solid ground in time for the both of them to see the spell wear off and the seas once again become monstrous white capped walls of water blowing this way and that. Hakuryuu exited his djinn equip form and looked the tower up and down, realizing how foreboding it looked when a flash of lightning could be seen striking the top. Looking out towards the sea again, small docks and even ships could be seen in this hellish storm, whose sight had made Hakuryuu stop and think for a moment. There were ships there from every province in the world: Partavea, Syndria, Kou, and even Leam. This struck Hakuryuu as very strange.

"How do you suppose they arrived here?" asked Hakuryuu, causing Judal to look and see ships docked and tied against the miniscule landmass attached to this tower.

"I'm…not sure." replied Judal, shaking his head in confusion. "This makes no sense at all; my spell not working correctly, this dungeon surrounded by a storm, which swallows up my wind magic commands as if they were nothing…what gives?" asked Judal, raising his hands in aggravation towards the tower. It was then that he noticed the insignia over the door, an inverted equilateral triangle inside a perfect circle. "Huh?" Hakuryuu looked upon the insignia just above the door as well and crooked his head towards Judal.

"What is that insignia depicting? I've never seen it before at all." he said solemnly .

"I don't know, but it explains why I didn't know anything about this dungeon." said Judal, pausing in order to make Hakuryuu ask why. Upon getting a questioning glance from said prince, Judal shrugged again and continued. "I didn't create this dungeon." he said flatly. Hakuryuu suddenly became unsure about this place as he stared back up at the decrepit tower's foreboding structure once more and the intricate insignia above the door. He'd never seen anything like it either, and if Judal was indeed telling the truth that this dungeon was not of his creation, then perhaps it would not be the best of intentions to go in there without thinking it through. "Well then Haku, you ready to take a gander in there?" asked Judal slyly before patting his back rough enough to push him towards the doorway.

"Wait, I," Hakuryuu stopped, careful not to touch the door so that the two of them would suddenly get sucked in. A loud explosion of thunder sounded overhead as a large bolt of lightning came down and set one of the ships on fire. The two men jumped at the sound and stared blankly at the roaring flames for a lengthy bit of time. However, something behind the fire stirred Judal's and Hakuryuu's gazes; looking beyond the fire, they saw a massive wave rapidly approaching the tower as another expolsion of thunder sounded overhead. The two of them swore and ran for the door attempting to open it but to no avail. The roaring water could be heard getting closer and closer as the deafening sound of the ocean blocked out everything else. Hakuryuu watched as Judal pulled up his wand in the air and fired a blast of bright magoi at the door, yet it remained shut. The two looked over their shoulders again and saw that the wave was beginning to tear up the docks, throwing bits of wood and rock this way and that. Hakuryuu didn't see the medium chunk of stone that was thrown from one of the legs of the docks and directly into the air, colliding immediately after with his forehead and casting a small blood spatter onto the doors. Almost like clockwork, the doors suddenly opened and sucked the two men inside the tower just as the wave smashed into the base and roared onward.

"Come on you big baby, I'm too invested in you for you to just die on me now." complained Judal as Hakuryuu began to stir.

"Wh-what happened?" he asked, shakily getting up and reaching for his hellbird.

"Ugh, nothing much." replied Judal, throwing a piece of clothing into Hakuryuu's face. Hakryuu struggled with the piece for a moment before he realized that he was not wearing anything from the waist up; looking down in his hands he saw that Judal had apparently removed the garments he was wearing and had been pressing it against the head wound that now send a dull throb throughout Hakuryuu's body.

"This piece of clothing was an antique Judal, perfectly tailored to me." said Hakuryuu, beginning to examine the garment and sighing as he began finding blood stain after blood stain.

"Well I certainly wasn't going to use any of my clothing." said Judal.

"Why not just use some healing magic?" asked Hakuryuu, causing Judal to shrug and smirk.

"Because your highness, ruining your day is just too much fun for me; besides, all of this tough love will make you be a stronger man. You won't have to hide in the shadows from mommy dearest when I'm through with you." said Judal, standing up and beginning to look around. Hakuryuu stared at Judal with a fire in his eyes. Judal's arrogant attitude towards his plots for vengeance against his mother was not something Hakuryuu was taking lightly, even if it was just joking by Judal's standards. A soft pale blue ambient light illuminated the room they were both in showing slimy green walls and a single doorway that seemed to lead into perpetual darkness as well as an eerie whispering that emanated directly from the blackness beyond. Judal and Hakuryuu attempted to listen to the repeated whispers but couldn't to any avail.

"It seems we'll have to proceed if we wish to know more about this place." said Hakuryuu, holding his head as a sudden throb caused him to audibly grunt. Judal looked at him and frowned.

"Come on baby dragon walk it off; the rock wasn't even that big to be honest." said Judal, stretching and walking towards the door without Hakuryuu, who scowled at Judal's back and began putting the garment back onto his body. Once on he picked up his hellbird and stabilized himself on his own two feet, an agonizing throb from the head wound sent him back down to his knees.

"Do not be afraid my child." said a voice that felt both dark yet soothing. "We are eternal peace; we are your only salvation." Hakuryuu darted his head every which way to try and find the source but there was no one else in the room with him, which immediately caused him to begin suspecting Judal. Grunting with gritted teeth he attempted to stand again, only to be pushed back down to the floor by the pain. "We are a timeless chorus, join your voice with ours and sing eternal victory, everlasting." said the same soft voice.

"This is not funny Judal!" shouted Hakuryuu.

"What are you yammering about?" asked Judal, sticking his head out of the doorway.

"The spell you just cast upon me. I do not find it at all humorous." said Hakuryuu, standing fully this time but bracing himself for another shock wave of pain.

"Perhaps that pebble hit you harder than I thought." said Judal, bending one of his wrists at the hip and scratching his head with the other.

"Don't play dumb with me, I know that you are using magic just to put voices into my head just now." said Hakuryuu, pacing passed Judal and using the hellbird as a walking staff. Judal continued to hold a face of genuine shock as Hakuryuu accused him of this. True, even Judal couldn't put it passed himself to torture poor Hakuryuu like that but this time he was telling the honest truth. Sighing and shrugging, he decided to just chalk it up to the head wound and continue to go further into the dungeon. The two walked along a hall way that seemed to illuminate all by itself as they moved, the light dying behind them as they walked in the hallway; often times they would pass random murals and engravings in the stone of the wall of a dragon breathing fire, who's head bore the same insignia as the doors leading inside this dungeon. The whispering sound that had been coming from the doorway to this hall seemed to be increasing in volume and it also seemed to be coming from all around them, as if the very walls were breathing a steady rhythm all resounding around one repeated word.

"What is that?...Shah…kath?" asked Judal. Hakuryuu paused and listened for a moment, his lips curling in a disheartened frown.

"It's Shachath…it is the name of a god-like deity that represents death." said Hakuryuu in an almost hushed tone. Judal's eyebrows perked up a bit after Hakuryuu's explanation.

"If that's the case, there's bound to be some good stuff lying around in here." said Judal, gently twirling his wand in his fingers before pausing and turning back to face Hakuryuu. "How do you know that?" Hakuryuu stayed silent for a moment before shaking his head.

"Back when I was journeying in the mountains towards the funeral of the late emperor, I encountered a group of travelers that were heading in the opposite direction of me towards the ocean. They claimed that they had all received messages from a divine figure telling them of a place of worship in a distant land. They called it Shachath and claimed that it was a child of an even greater god-like figure called Jashin." said Hakuryuu, trudging on with heavy steps.

"Why didn't you bring this up before?" asked Judal, walking after him and turning Hakuryuu around to face him.

"Because it didn't register as anything important at the time; those travelers looked so emaciated and disease ridden that it didn't really occur to me that they may have been actually searching for a legitimate place of worship." said Hakuryuu, turning around and continuing to walk down the hall. Judal paused and watched as he and Hakuryuu got separated enough to where they each had their own luminescence surrounding their forms down the hallway. He huffed quietly to himself before padding his feet on after Hakuryuu. After many minutes of walking and corners and turns inside this strange building, the two men eventually came to a rather ominous looking doorway with a pedestal and a small bowl with what looked like a small amount of thickly caked on dried blood at the bottom of it as well as a ceremonial looking dagger lay neatly off to the side of the bowl.

Hakuryuu and Judal began to get a sinking feeling as they both saw that the dagger was blood covered and that its handle bared the same insignia as both the dragon and the door. The blade itself resembled Alibabba's own metal vessel quite significantly as Hakuryuu picked it up and examined it. Judal stepped a bit closer to the door and realized that someone had drawn that same insignia into the door in what looked like blood as well.

"What's with this symbol, it's everywhere?" he said softly to himself before looking up and seeing various etchings of the language of Tron all around the doorway. "The blood must be repayed?" he said, squinting and reading it word for word. The whispering of the repeated "Shachath" seemed to be even louder from beyond the doors. Hakuryuu looked intently at the dagger and then at Judal, before a volting shock wave of pain came from his forehead once more, this time sending him on his back just under the pedestal. Judal turned and narrowed his eyes as he saw Hakuryuu on the ground and rolling while clutching his head with his real and wooden hands.

"Join your voice with ours Prince Hakuryuu; serve a divine purpose that exceeds anything the heretical witch could even begin to reward you with." said the same voice again. "You know deep down how this door must be opened. Shed your crimson soul in His divine name." Just then Judal's hand shook Hakuryuu back to reality, causing him to jump in his place. He was standing now with his hand outstretched to the door and almost finished with circling his hand around the blood insignia on the door. Looking into his wooden hand, Hakuryuu saw the ceremonial dagger grasped firmly in his fingers, dripping with fresh blood. He looked in astonishment as he withdrew his hand immediately and saw that he'd cut a cross into his palm, not deep enough to force him to bleed out but deep enough to get a steady trickle of blood for a little bit. Judal now looked legitimately concerned as he too began reconsidering the idea of coming here; unfortunately he also knew that true dungeon philosophy that in order to get out, one must keep going forward, or die trying. Silently cursing to himself he gripped Hakuryuu's hand roughly and pressed his thumb hard into the palm so more blood would flow out before slamming Hakuryuu's hand back on the door and finishing the retracing of the blood insignia. Hakuryuu grunted and pulled at his hand in protest as Judal let go after finishing.

"Idiot! Why would you do that!?" screamed Hakuryuu, looking away and removing his shirt again and tearing off a sleeve in order to wrap it around his hand. The door in front of them suddenly clicked and fell silently open as the whispers became significantly louder. The volume of hundreds of voices could be heard, all of them at a low and dull whisper but managing to sound like a massive chorus of silent hushed tones. The luminescence that surrounded both Judal and Hakuryuu suddenly left them and pulsated inside the next room before turning a bright grey and settling on the center of a massive chamber that lay in front of them. As they stepped inside, the could see hundreds of people all sitting on their knees, encircling what looked like a sarcophagus of some kind, centered inside of a massive circular chamber with the same insignia etched into the floor.

"I think I know what's in there." said Hakuryuu, pointing at the sarcophagus.

"Yeah, our only way out of here." said Judal, floating and pulling Hakuryuu with him and descending down into the chamber, the entirety of its inhabitants chanting "Shachath" in a soft whisper. Upon reaching the floor, Judar pushed past a few of the kneelers and got to the center of the room, looking the sarcophagus up and down. It depicted a tall masculine figure that held one of his hands clasped over the bottom of a sword pointed at the floor and the other hand slightly extended with the first two fingers extended towards the onlookers while the thumb and last two fingers were curled slightly into the palm. A pendent of the insignia could be seen etched into the sarcophagus around the neck of the one it housed. "Try bleeding on it again." said Judal. But Hakuryuu was farther off behind him, staring at the hundreds of crouched worshipers, all of them from different regions of the world.

"These must have been the people whose ships we saw on the outside." said Hakuryuu, placing his hellbird silently on the ground and reaching out to touch one of the people sitting on their knees. "Look at this; men, women," continued Hakuryuu, looking around and even spotting figures small enough to be children in the crowds. "even children in here. And they all carry a necklace with that insignia on it as well." he continued in astonishment. Judal looked around as well and gritted his teeth at Hakuryuu.

"Look, coming here was a mistake, we both know that now, so why don't we just do something useful and get the hell out of here so we can get back to our original goal." said Judal, his teeth gritted with all the words he spoke. Hakuryuu acted as if Judal's words had gone in one ear and directly out the other, too distracted by the devotion of these worshipers to even comprehend anyone else's rational words. Judal stomped up to Hakuryuu and grabbed the dagger from his hands and huffed. "Fine, I'll do it myself then." he said, placing his wand inside his top shirt and slicing the blade across his palm. It was then that he noticed more Tron writing at the foot of the sarcophagus with three individual chalices residing in front of each one.

"Shed a piece of the crimson treachery." he read aloud, the room waved with an audible chant of Shachath, causing both men to flinch in surprise. He looked and saw that individual tally marks had been placed in the bottom of each chalice; unsure of what was going to happen, Judal hesitantly clenched his fist over the first chalice with had a single tally mark in it and allowed one drop to fall in, looking to the second chalice, it having five tally marks, and the last one having two. He clenched his bleeding fist and dropped five and two drops of blood into their respective chalices and waited. Seconds passed and yet nothing occurred, no movement, no noise, just the silent subtle chanting of the surrounding worshipers. Hakuryuu walked up to the sarcophagus and began squeezing his still bleeding hand and repeated Judal's actions, as he'd watched the Magi place each amount of blood droplets into each chalice. Upon letting the final drop of blood into the chalice, the grey luminescence of the room disappeared and several beams of red light came from the ceiling of the chamber. Dulcet tones of what sounded like a very low toned instrument began sounding, playing a single note before switching to a lower note and playing five tones and then raising itself to a pitch between the two and playing two more tones. The chanters surrounding them began reaching inside their various clothing, all of them pulling out crude blades from all around the world and slicing their palms, arms, wrists and some, even their torsos. Hakuryuu got knocked back to reality when he saw this and immediately rushed over to the nearest child he could see in an attempt to get them to stop.

The sarcophagus chimed notes similar to that of the red lighted ceiling and clicked. The chanting in the room getting louder and louder as the worshipers slammed their bloodied limbs on the floor, letting pools of blood surround them, yet not staying pool shaped for long as each individual worshiper's blood began being drawn toward the engraving of the insignia in the floor. The ceiling chimed more bass filled dulcet tones as the worshipers became more and more aggressive, slamming their fists and hands and faces into the floor and rolling around in the blood before it was drawn into the massive insignia in the floor, all the while screaming "Shachath" repeatedly. When the entire engraving filled up completely, all of the blood was thrown into the air and fountained towards the sarcophagus, drenching the entirety of the stone work in the blood of the faithful. Hakuryuu and Judal were frozen in disbelief as the entire display unfolded in front of them, neither one of them able to say a word. Hakuryuu looked to his cut palm and let out a noise of audible confusion as he saw that the etched "X" in his palm was no longer present. Looking at all of the others in the room, he saw that their individual incisions had vanished as well, and yet, upon looking back at Judal, he saw that his hand was still bleeding as he held it tightly against his black bottoms.

"What is going-" Judal was cut off as the room suddenly fell deathly silent, the sarcophagus making a sudden clicking noise as if someone had unlocked it. The front of the statue cracked down the middle and suddenly shattered as a tall, lean and nude fanalis man falling out of it. He looked up at the worshipers directly to the front of him, his pendent around his neck jingling as his he moved. The Magi and the prince looked away, both of them blushing like mad out of embarrassment as the man reached back into the sarcophagus and pulled out a sheathed sword, stamping the tip of it into the floor of the chamber three times, ensuring an echo throughout the entire chamber. The blood of all of the faithful began moving on its own once more as it all gravitated towards him and began to cover his body, turning into garments of clothing, a black skin tight top instantly covering his chest but leaving his midsection open to see, similar to that of Judal's clothing, while bottom formed pants and boots that hugged the man's form just enough to show his toned legs without being too revealing. Another stream of blood crawled up his legs and towards his groin and rear, forming tattered red loin cloth for show while another stream formed around his shoulders and formed a beautiful red sash he wore around his shoulders with embroidery depicting serpentine and skeletal figures with intricate designs. As he stood, Hakuryuu and Judal saw that he had a relatively young face, that of a man in his mid-twenties, his piercing just below his bottom lip gave off the softest glow as he licked at it softly. He surveyed the room with almost luminescent pink eyes before the found Hakuryuu and settled upon him. Strapping his sword to his back, the fanalis man took up a proper stance and clasped his hands together in a proper bow that was traditional in the lands of the Kou Empire.

"Thank you for releasing me from the confines of my tomb my young prince." he said. Hakuryuu stood stunned as the voice of the man was the very same one he had heard in his head earlier. "I'm sure your mind is riddled with questions as to who I am and what this place is but that must wait for a moment."

"As if." said Judal, the man opening his eyes again and shooting the Magi a look of death. "You're not doing anything until I have some damned answers around here."

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 **That's the end for this chapter, I sincerely hope you all liked it. Please fave, follow and review and I hope to see you all very soon.**


	3. Indulgence

**Warning to any squeamish readers, there is adult content in this chapter, ie gore and displays of cannibalism. If you don't like it don't read it. Please enjoy the next chapter, (I do not own the Magi anime or manga).**

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Chapter 2

Shachath looked at Judal with a great look of disdain as he rolled his eyes and stood tall, cracking his knuckles from the placement of his hands. He softly stepped towards Judal, who was beginning to reach for his magic tool.

"I wouldn't even try my dear. I've got one hell of a healing factor." said Shachath, winking at Judal. The warning went unheard as Judal raised his hand shot a bolt of magoi at Shachath, who shifted his step and casually bent to the side, dodging the shot. Judal grinned as sparks of fire shot out of his magic tool and actually hit Shachath in the face and shoulder, searing the flesh. Shachath screamed as he felt his flesh sizzle and pop from being cooked by the flames. He groaned in pain and fell to all fours on the floor, his worshipers doing nothing but sitting in utter silence.

"Not so special after all." said Judal, twirling his magic tool in his fingers while resting his free hand on his hip.

"Judal you shouldn't have done that. He might be able to help me with ending Al-Thamen's reign in the palace." said Hakuryuu.

"Come on Hakuryuu I've told you, the only thing that's going to help you with that is by capturing more dungeons and getting more metal ves-" Judal was cut short as his throat was gripped tightly by Shachath, who's skin now looked flawless and unburned again. A look of solemn rage and pity was etched on his face as he squeezed, while raising his hand and biting the tip of his thumb. Curling his fingers into a fist he slammed it into Judal's groin before letting him fall to his knees, his mouth hanging open as the pain spread throughout his whole body. Shachath pressed his thumb and fingers on each side of Judal's mouth as he forced his bleeding thumb inside.

"One should never inflict pain without understanding it for themselves." said Shachath, smiling crookedly as he let his blood ooze inside Judal's mouth. Judal looked questioningly at the ceiling before a searing burning pain spread across his face and shoulder, as he felt this his skin reddened slightly before returning to normal while his mind still simulated the pain of being burned alive. Hakuryuu sat and watched in awe as Shachath dropped Judal, who curled up and held his face and shoulder. "Now then, before I was so rudely interrupted by that selfish Magi, I'm sure that you have an immense load of questions, but I must stop you right now for the moment. I've been dead for over a hundred years and I would like to eat something, so if you'll kindly get your Magi to start a fire when he's done learning his lesson, I can begin to cook myself my meal." said Shachath, walking back towards his sarcophagus and pulling out two twin sais and sheathing one of them. Hakuryuu looked around as Judal began to get to his feet.

"I don't mean to sound dumb, but what are you going to use as food. I see nothing in here that is even remotely edible." he said, dabbing at his head and realizing that that wound was still bleeding slightly.

"Oh, well unfortunately you've succeeded, and have proven your poor education. Look around you, there is food everywhere in this room. My meal, it's all sitting right around you my dear prince. You are quite literally surrounded by food as we speak." said Shachath, causing Hakuryuu to look around, the horrifying realization of Shachath's hints beginning to set in. He looked around at the faithful, their faces contorted with pain from their previous incisions but otherwise completely at peace.

"You…you don't mean to-"

"Yes, I do my prince. I'm going to devour each and every devoted little morsel in here, because the voices are beginning to haunt me now, and I must slake their hunger now before I lose my edge." said Shachath, a psychotic grin now beginning to form on his face as he began to walk over to a middle aged looking man. Judal, having heard all of this, was now back on his feet with a stunned expression as he watched Shachath wrap his arms around the man in an embrace.

"High Priest." whispered the man, in an almost euphoric tone.

"It's going to be fine my dear. Lord Jashin is smiling upon your sacrifice as we speak." said Shachath, wrapping an arm around the man and standing him up.

"I only wish to serve, and know that my sacrifice is not in vain." said the man, causing Shachath to almost shed a tear as a warm smile came onto his face while he embraced the man tighter.

"I promise you, that your life and your death have meaning and purpose. You are dying so that I, a son of our Lord may live peacefully. I promise you that He will smile upon you as you enter His loving embrace in the Plain." said Shachath, kissing the man's forehead. The man smiled and nodded as tears of joy trickled down his cheeks before Shachath wrapped an arm around the back of the man's neck. "I promise to make it quick and clean; I owe you that much my dear." said Shachath as he quickly tightened his arm and jerked it forward, allowing a fleshy crunch to echo in the room before everything fell silent. Once again, the worshipers began their repeated whisper chant of their priest's name, while he gently let the man's corpse down onto the floor before shooting a look of annoyance at both Judal and Hakuryuu. "Well don't just stand there, I need a fire, now." he said.

"I will not let you defile that man's corpse by consuming it." said Hakuryuu, swinging his hellbird into an offensive position while taking the proper fighting stance.

"Defile? Prince Hakuryuu, these devoted Jashinists chose to come to my shrine and offer themselves to me. They have deprived themselves of food and drink until my time of rising came. And by Lord Jashin's divine hand, these loyal worshipers…these loyal children have not aged or passed since the day of their arrival. Look all around you my prince." said Shachath as the lights in the room went back to a bright grey and shadows in the shapes of doors began to appear on the wall under the ledge where Hakuryuu and Judal had stood just before. "These devoted Jashinists could have left at any time they wanted. But instead of submitting to their own selfish desires, they chose not to abandon their Lord and stay to await their priest's arrival. They knew fully well what awaited them in the end. Don't believe me? Ask them yourself my dear prince." continued Shachath. Judal stared in astonishment as the rukh surrounding Shachath remained white and pure as ever.

"Impossible." said Judal, more to himself than anyone else. "How is it that you can say that and yet your rukh remain white as ever. Consuming someone's body is completely immoral; not even Al-Thamen's agents do that. How are your rukh so undamaged…so…clean?"

"Because unlike you heretics, I serve the true Lord of Death and Chaos; a true force of nature that even you pesky magi can't even hold back." said Shachath, laying the man out and beginning to strip him of his clothing. Judal gritted his teeth but saw a blackened pink rukh suddenly flutter by, but disappearing as he attempted to actually see it. Apparently Shachath had, at the very least sensed that as he raised an eyebrow in a sort of smug way. "Anyway, could you please begin by making that fire, I can feel the voices demanding me to do…obscene things to the two of you and I'm starting to like the idea of submitting to them." said Shachath, licking his lips in a creepy suggestive way. Judal, having quickly learned his lesson from just before, pointed his magic tool at a corner in the room and cast a spell that caused a medium sized fire to appear before strolling back to it and sitting by it and staring into the flames. Shachath mouthed the words "thank you" to the back of Judal's head as he fully stripped the man and skinned him in very little time. Hakuryuu looked all around him and began to shake a little girl that sat next to him.

"Please, wake up. You don't wish to die here do you?" he said, panic taking over as his voice began to audibly tremble and tears began trickling down his face.

"I am a worshiper of Lord Jashin. If I must pass so that our high priest can live peacefully, then I am obligated to do so. For High Priest Shachath is our savior. He is the only one that can deliver us to the Plain of Jashin." she said, almost shouting the last sentence with joy in her eyes.

"Hail Shachath! HAIL JASHIN!" screamed another voice from across the chamber.

"HAIL JASHIN!" screamed the devoted in unison.

"Hail Jashin!" shouted Shachath in response as a few of the devoted began whooping loudly from across the room to one another while others clapped amongst themselves. Hakuryuu's body trembled with rage as the memories of his dying brothers flooded inside of his mind, his grip tightening hard around his hellbird as he brought it up to a fighting stance once more.

"DWELL WITHIN ME, ZAGAN!" he screamed in fury, as a flash of purple light emanated around his body and his form shifted into his full djinn equip. Judal still sat silently in the corner, but he turned his head, almost curious now to see what would happen. Shachath stared blankly at him before laughing warmly and standing up to his full height again.

"My dear Prince Hakuryuu, I can't help but feel as though you are offering yourself to me with that charming djinn equip of yours. Food hasn't been the only thing I've been deprived of for over a hundred years." he said to Hakuryuu, winking at him before grinning evilly again and walking ever so calmly to Hakuryuu. "However, as much as this pains me to do so, I must decline your offer…for the moment anyway." he said, getting close enough so that the tip of Hakuryuu's spear pressed on his adam's apple. Reaching a hand up and curling his index finger, Shachath firmly flicked the third eye upon Hakuryuu's djinn equip. For a moment, it felt as if nothing had happened, however as the seconds passed, Hakuryuu suddenly felt drained as his djinn equip form began to falter and disappear into bright sparks of magoi. Hakuryuu fell to his knees in sheer exhaustion as he looked up at Shachath with beads of sweat beginning to dribble down his forehead.

"What…what'd you do to me?" slurred Hakuryuu. Shachath cackled and held his head, his fingers curling into a fist as he softly began to pull on his own hair.

"The djinn know their place around us my love. Jashinists have been in existence since before your beloved Kind Solomon. We remember when all of these djinn were individuals with incredible power. In short, Jashinists lasted longer in the destruction of the world and were properly hidden away so that we maintained our corporeal forms." said Shachath, leaning in and forcing Hakuryuu onto his back as another wave of exhaustion took over. " _We_ didn't need Solomon's protection and we maintained most of our numbers while grinding the heresy into the dust. Your djinn, Zagan as you called him, knows his proper place around someone of my stature." said Shachath. Hakuryuu slowly inched backwards as Shachath giggled madly and twirled his unsheathed sai in his hand. He stepped closer to Hakuryuu before pausing and smelling the air, as the scent of meat cooking began to fill the room. He turned around to see Judal solemnly resting the deceased worshiper's arm in the flames before pulling it out and blasting it off of the corpse with a small amount of magoi and tossing it to Shachath, who caught it out of the air like a dog and began greedily munching on it. Hakuryuu sat in horror as Shachath ripped and tore at the meat, sloppily consuming more and more as Judal began cooking more limbs over the fire. Realizing that the beast was now distracted, Hakuryuu grabbed that same little girl and began shaking here violently.

"Please, you don't want this. Don't you want to live and grow up? Don't you want to experience life at all?" he pleaded, tears now streaming down his face. The little girl looked at Hakuryuu and smiled warmly before raising her hand.

"Me next High Priest; I wish to be free of pain in this life." she said, causing Hakuryuu to freeze in terror.

"Don' boffer Haku, your cries ah fallin' on deaf ears." said Shachath with a full mouth, before swallowing and tossing the clean skeletal arm of the worshiper away and taking the other cooked arm from Judal and munching happily on it. Hakuryuu bowed his head and stood up, pacing angrily towards Shachath before picking up his hellbird and raising his wooden arm at him. Shachath chewed and swallowed before pausing and turning around to see four massive wooden serpents come out of the place where Hakuryuu's hand should have been. He quickly squatted and avoided the closest one while taking another bite of the arm and jumping backward, avoiding both the wooden serpents and his worshipers. Hakuryuu snarled in a rage as Shachath jumped, shifted, dipped and dodged basically everything that he was throwing at him. It didn't take long for him to exhaust what little magoi he had left as his hand slowly returned to normal and he collapsed onto the floor again.

"Why? Why must they all die?" asked Hakuryuu, full on crying now and watching as his hot tears pattered softly onto the chamber floor. Shachath, now finished with the second arm, tossed it away and ripped some raw meat off of the thigh of the corpse and tossed it over the flames and charred it slightly before removing it and walking towards Hakuryuu and gently prodding his face with it.

"Come on Haku, it'll make you big and strong.~" said Shachath, giggling and biting a large chunk out of the meaty morsel. Hakuryuu's eyes narrowed as his fingers curled into a tight fist, gripping his clothing and forcing noticeable wrinkles.

"Haku just don't fight him." said Judal, now having pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his braid around his face like a scarf as he stared into the flames. Hakuryuu was stunned by this as he looked to Judal and back to Shachath, who continued to prod his cheek with cooked human flesh.

"See your magi has the right idea already." said Shachath, nibbling more off of the thigh muscle. "Loo' instead o' bickering, how bou' we focus on the group of," Shachath paused to swallow before continuing. "Sorry, the group of filthy heretics we all know and despise. Your magi called them Al-Thamen." said Shachath. This got Hakuryuu's attention once more as he looked up at Shachath and stared into his eyes as the priest crammed more meat into his mouth.

"What do you know about them? You keep addressing them as heretics. And you've mentioned Solomon a number of times, how do you know about all of this? " said Hakuryuu, which caused Shachath to giggle a little bit.

"My dear I know everything. I've been exposed to the most primal form of knowledge that there is, as reward for dying with faith in Lord Jashin." said Shachath, devouring what was left in a way that looked like he basically just swallowed what was left. Hakuryuu looked in astonishment at both what Shachath said and what he did. "I was given a very special piece of fruit from a very special tree, and I consumed the entire thing. More than what that wretched woman could even hope to do the first time she tried it." said Shachath, almost spitting the words like venom. Hakuryuu looked at Shachath as if he'd grown extra limbs out of the blue, while Judal stared at him intently.

"I've never heard of that. A fruit that gives knowledge, ridiculous." said Judal, standing up again and approaching Shachath and handed him another piece of human meat.

"Why are you encouraging him to eat these people?" said Hakuryuu in sudden rage.

"Because Haku, we can learn from this guy." said Judal, solemnly almost feeding Shachath now. Hakuryuu stared in total confusion at what was going on before Judal continued. "I've seen what these people can do, just from that little…."lesson"…that I was given; these people are blood thirsty for Al-Thamen and you want your mother, their leader, dead."

"And what do you desire magi?" asked Shachath, accepting the next morsel and licking Judal's fingers clean, sucking hard on each digit. For a moment Judal saw more of his black rukh become tainted with a warm and fuzzy pinkish color again, this time not missing them as they fluttered by his eyes. Shachath saw a momentary flash of pink across Judal's cheeks before he looked away and ducked his face under his hair.

"I'm just in it for the chaos. I don't particularly care for anyone's political agendas. I don't even care who's running this world, even though my money is on Hakuryuu here. All I do know is that I've got so much power right now and I am so damned tired of listening to others of lesser talent telling me where to go and what to do. But you, you crossed my borg as if it were nothing. You did something just now that made me feel exactly the feeling of burning alive that I unleashed on you with heat magic. You took a dungeon capturer out of a full on djinn equip with one finger." said Judal, giggling and looking back to face Shachath with a look of maniacal happiness. "I don't know who you are or what your Lord Jashin is but compared to those old guys in the organization, you are by far someone who surpasses them in power and ability."

Hakuryuu didn't believe what he was seeing, as Judal and Shachath began killing more worshipers and filleting them all over fires. He stared, powerless as the two of them eventually moved to the little girl that was literally begging Shachath to kill her. Hakuryuu ducked his face away but shrieked when he heard the snap of her little neck. He bowed his head and sobbed so loud as he felt utter helplessness, knowing full well that Shachath would knock him right back to the ground, or worse, if he tried to interfere again. He chose to avert his eyes and sob as he heard neck after neck being snapped and cracked. The smell of burning flesh was beginning to die down and to Hakuryuu's horrified knowledge, he realized that Shachath wasn't even bothering to cook the meat anymore, choosing instead to devour the people raw like an animal.

"This is chaos in its primal form. This is true depravity; and yet Judal says his rukh are completely white. Is this really nature? Is this really what humanity really is?" asked Hakuryuu more to himself than anyone else in the room. His thoughts drifted to Aladdin, Alibabba and Morgiana as he sat in the Jashinist chamber in silence, aside from the crunching of necks and the wet slushy sounds of flesh being ripped away from its bones. After what felt like the longest eternity that Hakuryuu had ever waited, two hands clasped both of his shoulders, one of them Judal's and the other a blood soaked Shachath who held one of the most satisfied looks that either of the men had ever seen on anyone. "Are we truly animals?" muttered Hakuryuu.

"Of course my dear; we are, all of us, ample sacrifice to Lord Jashin. To think oneself above Him is to invoke his wrath, and by extension, my own wrath." said Shachath, massaging Hakuryuu's tense shoulder muscles before standing up and staring Judal down.

"What?" asked Judal.

"Just wanted you to know that I've saved some room for desert my love." said Shachath, leaning and running a blood soaked tongue up Judal's neck and cheek. Judal pushed him off and pulled Hakuryuu away.

"Hold on, that's not fair. We were the ones who let you out after all. You can't just turn around and eat us too." said Judal, pulling his magic tool out again and pointing it at Shachath.

"Who said anything about eating the two of you?" said Shachath, grinning and winking again at Judal and Hakuryuu. Both of their eyes narrowed immediately as they realized again what Shachath was truly leading towards.

"Such relations are forbidden in this world." spat Hakuryuu, causing Shachath to laugh extra hard again.

"Merciless Jashin, you truly believe that? Why, because some old man in a robe told you that you would suffer immensely in the next life if you do not lay with a woman? Oh please. You realize the gods are completely indifferent about that sort of thing. Even if you were lucky enough to earn a seat on their judgment, that would be the least of their concerns. The rukh are neither male nor female; they simply take the forms of those we know as their owners' energies are returned to this plain of existence when called upon. Other than that, there really isn't any distinction. And in my eyes, if neither the rukh or the gods care about whether I choose to lay with another man or not, why should I?" said Shachath, looking at Judal and Hakuryuu again with a definite sense of sexual hunger.

"THE ANSWER IS STILL NO!" screamed Hakuryuu.

"Ooo, temper temper sweet prince." said Shachath, before looking to Judal and raising his eyebrows as he awaited an answer. The magi's silence made Shachath believe that in the very least, he was considering it. "I think…or rather, I know, that the two of you are both going to say yes to me on that front, and I'm willing to bet that in…about six months, three weeks, two days, nine hours, seventeen minutes and thirty nine seconds, the three of us will be indulging in sins of the flesh like none can ever believe. I've been stuck waiting for over a hundred years in this tomb, six months in the outside world will be nothing." said Shachath, laughing and turning to the section of the chambers where the doors still remained. He was almost out of the room before he stopped and turned around, looking at all of the pieces of human remains that he'd left decorated about the room. Men, women, children, all of them equally edible; he took in a deep breath through his nose and looked upon the two men left standing. "Well come on my loves, my ship isn't going to sail itself out of here." said Shachath, exiting through one of the doors.

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 **This is where I must draw this chapter to a close. I'm curious to hear your the thoughts of the readers about this story so please let me know how you're all liking the story so far in the review box. Hope to be updating again real soon for all of you.**


	4. Knowledge

**Apologies to any readers who were awaiting this update, I wanted to take a miniature hiatus in order to get fully caught up with the manga in order to be competent in the coming chapters of the story. At any rate, here is the long awaited third chapter of the story. I hope you all enjoy.**

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Chapter 3

The corridors were draped in the same dim grey lighting as the main chamber as Shachath and Judal led the way. Hakuryuu stayed close but behind the two of them as the shuddered at everything he'd just let happen. All of the people that Shachath had eaten never even let out a sound as he and Judal had killed them. _Is that all he sees people as? Food and nothing more?_ thought Hakuryuu as he paced on after them, before stopping and falling to all fours and vomiting all over the floor. Shachath stopped and turned around, pacing back to Hakuryuu and patting his back as the next wave of nausea came over him.

"That's it," said Shachath, patting Hakuryuu on the back in an almost soothing way. Judal turned around and leaned on the wall and began twirling his magic tool in his fingers, smirking at the two of them before pulling away Hakuryuu's hellbird and leaning it on the wall as well.

"How can you both be so calm?" said Hakuryuu, wiping his mouth with his wooden hand. Shachath bent down and lapped softly his head wound with his tongue. Hakuryuu flinched and pushed Shachath away from him and backed against the wall. Shachath laughed warmly and got on all fours and began crawling towards Hakuryuu again. "Stop it right now!" screamed Hakuryuu.

"No. Indulgence is my forte my love. You, your magi, and I are bonded forever because I say so." said Shachath, moving a lock of hair out of Hakuryuu's face. Hakuryuu fought his way out of Shachath's hands but soon lost as another wave of nausea hit him and he vomited again. Shachath reached around and pulled the stray hairs out of Hakuryuu's line of fire before patting and rubbing his back again.

"You know that little lick wasn't just a display of lust or me tasting you," said Shachath, rubbing in small circles at Hakuryuu's shoulder blades. Hakuryuu felt his stomach churn as the fanalis man's grip tightened ever so slightly on his hair and he was guided upward with gentle tugs. "I experienced everything you've been through my little Haku-chan." said Shachath, lapping again at the dried blood on Hakuryuu's forehead. "I see everything that's happened to you, what drives your very being. In other words, I now know you better than you know yourself my love." said Shachath, Hakuryuu now fidgeting again and looking him in the eye.

"Then you should know that I don't have time for this you filthy peasant." said Hakuryuu snapped. Shachath scowled and pulled down hard on Hakuryuu's hair, exposing his neck.

"I could do it right now Haku." said Shachath, running his tongue roughly on the side of Hakuryuu's neck, feeling each nerve ending tense up as the warm moist muscle made its way across it. Hakuryuu groaned softly and gritted his teeth, looking to Judal who seemed to be standing and watching in amusement, crossing his arms and raising his eyebrows with a devilish smirk. "I could sink my teeth into this lovely neck of yours and snap your neck hard and it'd be over in an instant." said Shachath, showing his teeth which were still stained red from all of the blood from earlier. Hakuryuu looked into his eyes and saw a fiery rage that yearned to keep killing, white rukh casually fluttering all about his form. He shut his mouth and studied Shachath's blood soaked face and saw that there was no hesitation in his words. "But I won't, because I need the two of you." said Shachath, looking now to Judal, who pulled away from the wall and placed his wrists on his hips again and furrowed his eyebrows at Shachath.

"How come?" said Judal.

"Because my siblings need to be freed as well; and you dipshits are going to help me get them." said Shachath, turning his attention back to Hakuryuu. "And if you do this, and don't put up too much of a fight, I will in turn, help the both of you kill the heretical witch." Hakuryuu kept squirming until the mentioning of Gyokuen.

"Y-you, will help us?" asked Hakuryuu.

"I will if you stop fighting me and do what I ask for the time being." said Shachath, who began to loosen his grip. Hakuryuu kept staring at him with some sort of determination now. Judal raised an eyebrow and smirked, looking at Hakuryuu expectantly as Shachath let go of his hair. He bent down and picked up Hakuryuu's metal vessel and handed it over to him. "With me, I alone could get you to the palace before those puppets of hers blast my body to bits and have me stuck on the side lines. With Shiva, the youngest of my siblings, we could possibly get you into the inner courtyard. With Shiva, Sithis, Pestilence, Dragulanus and D'Methodih, you could have all of your vengeance and more on every single being that robbed you of your birthright as emperor of the Kou Empire." said Shachath. Hakuryuu's eyes narrowed.

"What did you say?" asked Hakuryuu.

"Was the throne not yours when your late father died? Were you not the only son left in line before your cousins took over the priority of lineage?" asked Shachath. Hakuryuu let a bead of sweat fall from his face as he looked into Shachath's eyes again as a long silence fell across the three of them. Shachath slowly began to lean in and brush his lips across Hakuryuu's, who was brought back to consciousness at this sensation, placing his hands on Shachath's shoulders and pushing him away only slightly as Judal came back up to him and leaned in just as close on Hakuryuu's hellbird. Hakuryuu saw hundreds of pink and fuzzy blackened rukh flutter about the both Shachath and Judal.

"Both of you please, stop this." said Hakuryuu, backing up to the wall and pushing on the both of them. He was practically in tears as his face flushed a deep shade of red and he looked away.

"Your mouth says no no no, but your body is saying yes yes yes." said Judal, reaching up and running his hand down Hakuryuu's flesh arm and over his chest.

"Sucks for you, because I'm a royal tease." said Shachath as he fluttered his hand down Hakuryuu's body and over his groin, eliciting a small moan of approval from the prince before backing off completely and walking down the hallway into the darkness. Judal grinned and blew kisses in the air at Hakuryuu before placing the hellbird in his arms and patting him on the cheek and turning to follow Shachath. Hakuryuu blushed a deep shade of red before looking to the ground and frowning at the raging hard on that he was currently trying to conceal in the dark hallway. After a few minutes he caught up again with Judal and Shachath and listened in on their conversation.

"So why is it that you keep calling that old bitch the heretical witch." said Judal.

"That is a very good question magi; one with a lot of answers." started Shachath, Hakuryuu being sure to pay extra attention at this. "According to the apple of Eden, it all started in the world before this one; the place you call Alma Torran. Gyokuen, or, Arba as she was called in those times. Let's just say for the sake of brevity, that Solomon killed an extremely powerful creature of unlimited power and assimilated himself with it." said Shachath, causing both Judal and Hakuryuu to stop in their tracks. Shachath sensed the dramatic pause and stopped as well, turning around to see the perplexed expressions on both faces of Judal and Hakuryuu. "It's not that difficult to conceive, I mean really, with the additional knowledge of the apple, it's rather simple. This world was created in order to escape the after effects of Al-Thamen's little scheme by bringing said deity out of its prison in one of the infinite alternate realities. The same scheme that the heretical witch almost succeeded with, in that place called Magnostadt. But in Alma Torran they actually succeeded and almost all life was destroyed but some magical prick created a new world and had everyone escape to it. Luckily our prophet made it as well and began the grueling process of rebuilding our faith." said Shachath.

"Wait a minute," said Hakuryuu, "you said that you retained enough of your numbers in order to 'stomp the heretics into the dust'. How was it that your faith was both massive and almost wiped out?"

"Heh, well, upon succeeding in victory against Al-Thamen, the remnants of Solomon's household turned their sights to Jashinists, even after cooperating peacefully in the name of King Solomon. You see, because of our distinct similarities in wanting to cause chaos and death, we were seen as the next version of Al-Thamen. Oddly enough I can't blame them for thinking that because they were right; the only difference was that we lacked the means, capabilities and intentions to completely wipe out whatever life remained in Alma Torran." said Shachath.

"And why was that?" asked Judal. Shachath giggled and turned a corner while Judal and Hakuryuu began to notice several hooded figures dressed in black beginning to come into their line of sight as they walked with Shachath. They all had a single sword strapped to their sides and the backs of their robes bore the Jashinist insignia.

"Because of our own pride and faith in Lord Jashin; if we were to end all life then and there then the responsibility would not have been ours. Al-Thamen had been the one to cause the colossal death toll, not the Jashinists. If we had ended the last survivors then Lord Jashin would not have been given nearly enough power as he would have if we were the ones responsible. Therefore, our prophet in his infinite wisdom, escaped the purges and remained hidden in the shadows before he arrived here to this world. It was at that point that the Roaming Prophet of Jashin began to walk the lands and recruit the next generation of followers." said Shachath.

"That's a cute story but it still doesn't answer the question of why you wanna see every one of the old guys in the organization burn to a crisp." said Judal, cleaning out his ears with one of his fingers and wiping it on the sleeve of one of the hooded figures before getting back fisted, the strike stopping at his borg. Shachath stopped and turned to see what the commotion was before looking to the hooded man who attempted to strike Judal.

"Um…what was that?" asked Shachath.

"He was cleaning his ear out and wiped it on my sleeve High Priest." said the man.

"Ew." said a random voice from the hooded crowd, which got Shachath's attention. He raised a hand holding up his index finger towards Judal and Hakuryuu.

"One moment please." said Shachath before turning his attention to the general direction of the man who commented. "Did you just say 'ew'? We eat people when necessary for sacrifice and survival and you treat that like it's nothing but a little bit of ear wax has gotten you so grossed out that you feel the need to talk?" A few random giggles and scoffs spread throughout the groups murmurs as Shachath face palmed, shook his head and sighed.

"Of course sir, a potential meal did in fact place something from its body onto one of our brothers." said the hooded man. Shachath opened his eyes and looked up again before sort of shrugging and nodding his head in agreement. He reached over and flicked Judal in the forehead as he did with Hakuryuu.

"Don't do it again." said Shachath, turning around and walking again down the hallway. Judal and Hakuryuu followed, as did the growing number of hooded men and women. "Now where was I?" asked Shachath.

"You were about to explain why you hate Al-Thamen." said Hakuryuu sternly.

"Ah yes; well you see, there was a point where the prophet led a small rebellious group of Jashinists against the same god-like deity that Solomon assimilated with, but obviously were not nearly as successful. When Solomon did this, he spread out the deity's essence everywhere to everyone evenly, which I will admit, is respectable. However he wanted peace to ensue, and that was where the prophet felt the need to draw the line…at first. You see, at the point when Solomon assimilated with the deity, there were those who disagreed with that decision; and because of said disagreement, they revolted just as the prophet did. Arba and the prophet were initially aligned with one another, however that stopped when he witnessed Arba's display of inflicting pain in which she did not understand, as were the rest of her agents. This is one of the most horrifying sins that anyone, especially a blasphemous whore like her, could commit. The prophet became enraged as she indulged in practices that were sacred to Jashinists only, without even giving our Lord a single acknowledgement. It was in this spirit that he commanded that the forces of Al-Thamen and Jashinism separate on grounds of heretical acts. Simultaneously, they fled to the remaining forces loyal to Solomon's will, their leader being a woman named Sheba. Out of desperation, the prophet allied himself with the blasphemous queen and aided her in the destruction of Al-Thamen, before being turned on and being ground into the dust himself. Ironically enough, having your entire "tribe", or "cult" or whatever you wish to call it, ground into the dust was a pain that even the prophet himself had not experienced, and so he paid for it, but learned from his sins." said Shachath, as more and more figures joined them and murmuring came about them all.

"In the end, this world was nothing more than an opportunity for the prophet to begin again, and attain a new line of faithful Jashinists that would assume the role as his new disciples and eventually the role of the high clergy." continued Shachath. Hakuryuu and Judal listened for more but felt cut short as they realized that Shachath was finished with his story. Not wanting to go through an awkward silence Judal decided to speak up again.

"So, why do you guys like to eat people?" he asked, a good portion of the group began their same sort of sniggering again as they continued on, their numbers seeming not to be increasing anymore.

"Eh, just a kind of traditional sort of thing; D'Methodih knows how to make it so it's like you're not even eating human being." said Shachath, giggling along with the other Jashinists around them. "We mainly do it if we're starving, but if you've got someone like myself who's consumed so much of it, you kind of go insane and it gets to the point where the only way to stay sane is to consume more of it." said Shachath.

"Ironic," murmured Hakuryuu. "The thing that ailed you is the thing that offers treatment."

"Precisely." said Shachath. The whole group came to a room where a massive man 'o war sat in large body of water inside a large cavern; its masts almost brushing up against the rocks that dangled from the ceiling. The ship looked black with 45 cannon emplacements on each side and two floors of balconies on the stern. The figurehead of the ship was a massive serpent that looked as if it were in the midst of biting something as its fangs and were shown as its mouth hung open. At the bow there were several additional gun emplacements, but nothing more than the basic details could be made out as the lighting inside of the cavern was once again quite poor. Judal and Hakuryuu both raised their eyebrows as they laid their eyes on the massive ship and looked at one another before Shachath began speaking.

"Gentlemen! Ladies! Are you ready to hear the _Dragon's Breath_ roar again!?" screamed Shachath in immense excitement. All of the surrounding hooded and cloaked Jashinists shouted and cheered in excitement and bloodlust as they all began clamoring towards the ship, some of them not even wasting time on the stone docks as they dove into the water and began swimming towards the side of the ship. Shachath cackled and smiled evilly as he started towards his ship and stopped short to wrap an arm around both Hakuryuu's and Judal's necks. "Either of you ever been on a ship like this before?" asked Shachath. Both Judal and Hakuryuu shook their heads and Shachath laughed as he guided them and shoved them up the gangplank before following them up onto the main deck.

"Oh my darling it's been too long. You still look like you're brand new!" said Shachath as he practically skipped up the stairs to the top most deck and hugged the wheel close to his chest. As if on cue a large crack was heard as bits of the ceiling and wall in front of them began to fall and sink into the water, which looked to be a murky black and appeared to not have a single bottom. Hakuryuu and Judal staired for what felt like an eternity before being knocked back to reality by Shachath who began barking orders at random Jashinists. "I want those sails out to full now! You, what are you doing standing around, take inventory on our powder and guns. You four, inventory on cargo. The rest of you, grab some soap and brushes! I want this bitch SHINING when we're out in the open! LET'S GO MOVE YOUR SACRIFICIAL ASSES NOW!" screamed Shachath in a booming voice that could be heard for what felt like miles. He leaned eagerly on the wheel of the ship, hopping and giggling like a child with a new toy as many of the hooded Jashinists went below decks. A single hooded, what appeared to be male, figure walked up the stairs and bowed deeply to Shachath, who in turn looked and bowed back to him before they both stood upright.

"High Priest Shachath, I am Amir Ibn Lahed, I have been steward of the House of Shachath ever since my predecessors Saed Ashwar, Nazir Ashwar before him, took over clergy-hood ever since your tragic departure from this world. I wish to be the first to say that I am overjoyed to see that you have returned in good health." said the man calling himself Amir. Shachath smiled and clasped him firmly on the shoulder and nodded to Amir.

"It is immensely good to be back here my dear. Lord Jashin has rewarded us all with reincarnating me and allowing me to guide you in following out His Will once more." said Shachath. Amir nodded and took his place by Shachath's side and began barking similar orders to the bustling crewmen. Another loud crack could be heard as the entire wall in front of them collapsed and fell into the murky depths and a massive rush of water began flowing into the cavern, whose roof seemed to be rising as the water made the ship rise from its depths. Judal and Hakuryuu stared in awe as they watched the ceiling tremble and a sudden natural looking light source began shining inside of the cavern. Most of the men began shielding their eyes and screaming as the light flooded into the rising ship and cavern.

"I want those guns loaded and ready to fire by the time we are ready to sail people!" screamed Shachath as he kept hopping excitedly and cackling evilly. Judal and Hakuryuu covered their eyes as well, the light much brighter now as the skies outside seemed to have cleared up and the roaring storm ceased. A light breeze flowed into the cavernous room as the walls and ceiling began cracking more firmly as well, releasing more and more water into the cavern. The ship began rising higher and faster as the winds became stronger. The sails, now out and awaiting, loomed over the ship like black clouds of death as red embroidery showed the Jashinist insignia in each of the main sails. As everyone looked at the bow, they saw the walls in front of them getting closer.

"High Priest, we're going to be one with the rocks if this wind doesn't die down!" screamed a random man atop some of the rigging. Shachath looked up and swore as he began cranking the wheel in an attempt to turn the ship. More and more water began roaring into the cavern and the gusts became more and more turbulent as more and more light began flowing into the cavern. Looking to the stern of the ship Judal and Hakuryuu found out why, as a large opening was created. With more light the two of them were able to study the _Dragon's Breath_ a bit more closely. The darkness, that they had thought to be the staining of the wood used to make the ship's hull was not wood at all, but rather very thick metal plating. The cylinders that lined the main deck, that Shachath referred to as cannons were a beautiful golden color. Looking towards the bow, they saw that there were also gold covered cylinders that appeared to be much wider than that of the ones facing away from the ship. As Shachath cranked hard on the wheel, the ship gradually began to shift as it began to softly bump onto the rocks surrounding it. For what seemed like an eternity Shachath kept cranking hard on the wheel of the ship before it could not be cranked at all anymore. He leaned on it and kissed the wheel deeply.

"COME ON MY LOVE! SHOW ME THAT YOU STILL GOT A YOUNG PUNCH!" screamed Shachath as the ship gradually bumped into the wall again before being aimed directly outside and the sails being blasted full of air as another loud crack was heard and an opening into the outer world was created at the stern. What seemed like gale force winds, blew in from the new opening as the _Dragon's Breath_ was thrust forward and into the open ocean. Upon exiting the cavern, everyone turned around to see the dungeon of Shachath crack up its middle before it began collapsing in on itself before a massive wave came from seemingly nowhere and reclaimed the monument for the sea. All of the Jashinists began bowing their heads in prayer before turning back to Shachath and Amir at the wheel.

"Hope no one left anything in there." shouted Shachath, before he and the whole crew, and even Judal roared with laughter. Shachath brought up a hand to silence them shortly after. "All kidding aside, it warms my heart to see so many of you that stayed loyal to Him. I see so many of you; old faces , new faces, some new faces on old faces but despite all of your back grounds and upbringings, you all united yourself in the name of Lord Jashin to await my resurrection. As of right now, I, your high priest, promise you fortune and favor among the men and women of this world. I promise you chaos, life and death, for that is who we truly are. A grandiose group of misfits and crazies who never belonged anywhere else but here, united by one god and His goal of total chaos; we are the models of what the world should look to for guidance, and never let any single blasphemous soul tell you otherwise. If they do," Shachath paused for what Judal and Hakuryuu thought to be dramatic effect. The crew of the _Dragon's Breath_ waited but stared impatiently at Shachath. "IF THEY TELL YOU THAT WE ARE WRONG, THAT OUR WAYS ARE INTOLERABLE, THEN SACRFICE THEM. MAKE THEM SEE WHAT WE FEAR. MAKE THEM EXPERIENCE AN ETERNITY OF PAIN AND SUFFERING AT THE HANDS OF OUR UNHOLY FATHER. MAKE THEM FEEL THE FULL WRATH OF LORD JASHIN!" bellowed Shachath. The crew cheered in unison as Judal and Hakuryuu both smiled at the way these people were so easily united. Neither of them forgot what he did to the first batch of people that he met when he was released, and yet the smiled ear to ear at the display of charm and charisma that almost seemed to emanate from Shachath.

"This guy is so worth investing some time into." said Judal, grinning to Hakuryuu, who hesitantly nodded in agreement. Although these people, and Shachath, were probably going to do some very horrifying things in the near future, the two of them seemed rather comfortable with it as they awaited to see where Shachath was planning to take them.

* * *

 **This is where we are going to draw to a stopping point. Once again I hope you've enjoyed reading this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Please follow and review so I know this is going well and I hope to see you all again next time.**


	5. Magi Secrets and Piracy

**Here is the next installment of Rise of the Painted Ones. Please enjoy and remember to fav, follow and review. :3**

* * *

Aladdin sat alone in a Sindrian private study by candle light surrounded by dozens of scrolls, most of them in the Toran language. Using a pair of enchanted spectacles that Professor Irene had previously given to him, Aladdin began to diligently study the closest thing to the history of Alma Torran that he currently possessed. After what seemed like hours of reading scroll after scroll, he found that he was barely any further than when he'd started. Rubbing his sore eyes, he grabbed his staff and levitated upward into the catacombs of the library, pulling out any and all scrolls that looked as though they would even offer the slightest hint at Alma Toran.

"There's got to be something I'm not seeing here." Aladdin mumbled to himself, pulling out a scroll underneath a pile and accidentally causing an avalanche of ancient parchment to go toppling down to the floors below. He sighed and bowed his head before smiling softly and floating back down to the floor below. Some of the scrolls ended up opening up on the way down, causing a bigger mess to form; upon landing he got to his hands and knees and began rummaging through the fallen texts. Very few of the scattered scrolls had even mentioned anything remotely important about Alma Torran, let alone the calamity that destroyed it. Sighing, Aladdin reached for a scroll that lay slightly askew from all the rest, the lip of it only partially open for anyone to see. However because it was in Torran script, Aladdin took immediate interest in it. Opening the scroll released a cloud of dust into the air in front of Aladdin, causing him to cough and wave his hand in front of his face, knocking the candle over in the process and throwing the room into darkness. After relighting the candle he situated himself a bit more comfortabley and began to carefully examine the scroll in front of him.

"The Roaming Prophet and the Painted Ones of Jashin." read Aladdin aloud. He blinked for a moment, wondering if this scroll would be another waste of time, however, he suppressed the urge to cast it aside. At this point of his research, any information was decent information. "Today was the first time that I had ever laid eyes on him. The Roaming Prophet, our high priest and the true son of Lord Jashin. I have sacrificed to much of my crimson soul for this day to come. I saw not the divine light of a messiah, nor did I hear the deafening cheers of countless nations as Solomon receives upon his arrival to the various regions. To the sight of an average onlooker, there would have seen an old man, away from the masses, keeping to himself but welcoming any and all to join him. A seemingly kind and innocent man who desired no conflict, and to those of the uninitiated, that was all our prophet needed in order to manipulate their false senses of peace and security."

Aladdin paused as he retraced the sentence mentioning Solomon and reread it, pondering on who Solomon was, and more importantly, how the author of this scroll seemed to be more familiar with him than most.

"Our role in this world is to keep the tyranny of Order and Control at bay. As the children of Death Himself, we are obligated to ensure that chaos will ensure in the shadow of peace." Aladdin paused at this sentence, as whomever authored this scroll began to sound suspiciously like that of a member of Al-Thamen. Realizing that this scroll might reveal a great deal of Al-Thamen's origins, Aladdin continued to press on with his reading. "The Prophet looked upon me with the warmest of smiles as I prayed and shed more of my crimson soul in Lord Jashin's name. He took me by the shoulder and drew upon my forehead our sacred insignia. I have been chosen as his first legitimate subordinate. I am now a High Priest in the making; I cannot express in words what a tremendous honor this is, and what this means for Lord Jashin's Will as well. Although I am still not allowed to sacrifice a life other than my own to Him, I am still placed in the High Clergyhood of our Unholy Father. From now on the blasphemous masses will bow to the Jashinists, and they will bow to our Prophet." Aladdin paused again as it seemed that the rest of the scroll seemed to be blank. Aladdin became concerned as the author's memoirs began to become more and more interesting.

"Where's the rest of it?!" asked Aladdin audibly as he began to pull the rest of the scroll out more and more. The parchment seemed to go on forever as Aladdin kept pulling before he spotted a stray sentence as he neared the end of the scroll. He felt a chill run up his spine as a cold bead of sweat fell from his forehead and onto the parchment. _I know who you are Magi. Our secrets are not yours to know, blasphemous child of Solomon_. Aladdin swallowed hard as he looked over both of his shoulders and them back to the scroll, which was now completely blank again.

"Huh, I guess I must have been seeing things." said Aladdin, rubbing his eyes and laughing softly to himself. He looked down at the scroll and back to its beginning, only to see that that portion was no longer visible either.

"I see you." whispered a voice into Aladdin's ear that came from nowhere; Aladdin jumped and backed away from his place of study in a frenzy, letting out a small scream as he backed abruptly into a shelf. He breathed quickly looking all around and in the shelf behind him before shakily taking off Yamraiha's enchanted spectacles and looing over to the innocent looking scroll as if it were an omen of death.

"Aladdin are you alright?" said another random voice, causing Aladdin to look up and see Yunan floating down towards him.

"Oh it was just you Yunan." said Aladdin, sighing with relief, looking back to the same blank scroll and shuddering before looking back up.

"This place is fantastic, it's dark here." said Yunan, shifting his weight so that he was now sitting on his staff while in midair. "Sindria's light is too strong for me." he continued.

"Yunan, don't startle me like that. Why did you come here out of the blue? And what's with that creepy scroll you were messing with?" asked Aladdin. Yunan looked to Aladdin in mild confusion before answering.

"Well, to answer your first question, it was obviously to speak with you. But I was not enchanting any scroll in this place Aladdin." said Yunan, Aladdin not sensing any hints of trickery in his voice. "But more to the point, I'm here because we were not able to speak a whole lot back in Magnostadt."

"Yes, that's right. You suddenly disappeared that time. It was such a difficult situation. Everyone was so tense, until Kouen returned to the Kou Empire." said Aladdin, deciding it better to dismiss the scroll for now.

"It's alright. The fight is not on a national scale anymore; not only that, they know that they have a common enemy. The leaders of both armies didn't want any more deaths other than that battlefield, as well." continued Yunan, looking at Aladdin fondly. "So you don't have to worry about everything alone. There won't be a fight soon, its' alright now Aladdin." Aladdin paused before staring into Yunan's direction and then back down to the next scroll now.

"It's just as Morg said." murmured Aladdin.

"Eh?" asked Yunan.

"She told us a lot about you. She said that you are shrouded by a mysterious aura but you are really kind. You had her train with other house-hold vessel users. She also said she studied under you and that you taught her the Toran language." said Aladdin.

"Heh, I'm glad that Morgiana was so happy about me. But, I'm not such a good person, you know?" said Yunan.

"Eh?" asked Aladdin.

"I know a lot of things about, "Ugo" too, you know?" said Yunan, a slight smug smirk beginning to form on his lips. Aladdin's eyes narrowed as he bolted up to his feet.

"UGO!?" he exclaimed.

"Yes. I'm sorry to say this but, you aren't the only magi favored by the "Guardian of the Sacred Palace"." said Yunan. _This person…_ thought Aladdin, staring intently at Yunan. _Does he know about the "Room of Fortitude" as well? Could it be that he was there before me?_

"Hey! It's not polite to eavesdrop on one's conversation, Sinbad." said Yunan, to what seemed to be a small colorful bird perched atop a railing nearby. Across Sindria, inside the royal palace, Sinbad sat perched behind his desk, scowling in the direction of the study.

"Don't tell me that, Sharp Ears. You can hear any conversation that's happening on this island, right?" said Sinbad.

"More or less. I can hear your voice clearly, as well." responded Yunan. "You sound older, too." he mumbled shortly after under his breath. Aladdin stared in bewilderment as Yunan looked as if he were communicating with thin air. _Is he talking to Sinbad? How? Is this some kind of magic as well?_

"Is this a conversation between fellow magi? Sounds really interesting…allow me to take part in it as well! This is my country. You can't say no to me. I have even prepared that room for you, after all…" said Sinbad. Yunan looked down and to the side.

"Well…I refuse." said Yunan. Sinbad's face showed a look of shock.

"What?" he asked.

"You know, I don't trust you that much after all…" said Yunan.

"That's my line, you villain!" grunted Sinbad. _These two, don't they get along with one another?_ thought Aladdin. Within minutes Sinbad arrived at the study, stomping furiously into the room that Aladdin and Yunan stood. "Let me take part in the conversation, too, Yunan." demanded Sinbad.

"No. I want to speak with Aladdin alone." responded Yunan. Aladdin stood alone with his thoughts as to why Sinbad and Yunan were not on the best of terms when Yunan suddenly scooped up Aladdin and sat with him side by side on Yunan's staff.

"Get away from him Aladdin!" demanded Sinbad.

"Calm down uncle Sinbad!" pleaded Aladdin.

"He's right, calm down Uncle!" said Yunan with a bit of a snarky smirk.

"Shut up!" screamed Sinbad. "This guy is equally as guilty as Judal! He's the perpetrator that made the first dungeons appear and threw this world into chaos!" screamed Sinbad. Yunan himself looked as if he were about to be reduced to tears.

"Sinbad you meanie! I retracted more dungeons than I summoned! Wasn't it I who ran around retracting those dungeons Judal summoned to favour the Kou Empire? And yet…Idiot." said Yunan, turning his staff and beginning to float away. "Stupid Sinbad. I don't wanna talk to you anymore!" said Yunan, ignoring Sinbad's pleas. "I can create a room where we can talk in private. AL-KIMIA AL-QADIMA!" he chanted. Sparks of magoi began to flow out of the end of Yunan's staff as trees began appearing out of thin air, as well as carpentry tools of all sorts appeared as well, sawing and hammering the lumber into a cabin to which Yunan and Aladdin quickly disappeared inside of upon its completion and assimilation of its borg.

* * *

"High Priest Shachath! We're drifting close to some ships here sir!" screamed a voice from atop the rigging. Shachath looked up and out to see, picking up a spyglass and extending it all the way and peering inside. Hakuryuu was beside him moments later while Judal still lay on the railing, dangling and swinging his hair along the side of the ship in the sea breeze. Shachath lowered the spy glass and shook his head and cackled to himself as he handed Hakuryuu the spy glass. Taking it and looking down its center he saw three minimally armed military ships of the Kou Empire. Hakuryuu felt a sinking feeling in his guts as he looked back to Shachath to see a maniacal look on his face.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, what say we have ourselves some target practice to see if this old girl is still young and restless eh?" shouted Shachath. The crew cheered with joy as their High Priest took the helm and began steering the _Dragon's Breath_ towards the small cluster of ships.

"Wait, those ships are carrying soldiers that belong to the Kou Empire. I cannot allow you to harm citizens of my home country." said Hakuryuu, turning and clinging to Shachath's scarf, tugging on it softly. Shachath turned to see the earnest face of the prince before looking down at the hands that groped his clothing.

"And I should care, why?" asked Shachath.

"Please, how many more must you kill? How many more people have to suffer because of your insatiable bloodlust?" screamed Hakuryuu, Judal looked over as well and cocked his head to the side.

"All of them." said Shachath, in a deranged tone before kissing Hakuryuu deeply and pushing him aside. "Gunners at the ready, load the starboard side and await for my signal you feckless pack of inbreeds!" The crew stirred into a hastened pace at Shachath's sudden change in tone and dialogue. Below decks all forty-five cannons were loaded with the standard powder charge and cannon ball as the gunmen hauled their corresponding doors open and pushed their respective artillery into the opening, taking aim at the Kou ships.

"Shachath please I beg of you spare the lives of these men." pleaded Hakuryuu.

"Haku, were you not the one who wanted to destroy Kouen's Empire bit by bit?" asked Shachath. Hakuryuu paused and looked back to the ships, seeing that they were getting ever the more closer.

"Yes but,"

"Then why not start with something small?" asked Shachath. "Were these not the same men who abandoned you in your time of recovery and turned to the witch and her adopted step children for leadership?" Hakuryuu's face fell again as he looked back in Shachath's direction and gritted his teeth, his fists bunching up his trousers as Shachath began to see the whites of Hakuryuu's knuckles.

"Hakuryuu, if you want my advice, I say let the guy blow them all to pieces. Come on, when's the last time any of the soldiers in the Kou military have looked to you for leadership. Hell, some of them even respect the pint sized brat Kouha more than they would even acknowledge you in the first place." said Judal, shifting his weight off of the railing and walking over to the two now, bringing up an arm and leaning on Shachath's side.

"Even if I do let him, it will still be Shachath killing those men and not me." said Hakuryuu, looking back to the ships now with a smaller amount of pity and a slightly increased amount of rage. Despite how much Shachath's and Judal's words stung, it did not mean that they were any less true. Hakuryuu was one of the most overlooked princes in the entirety of the Kou Empire. He craved to be noticed both as a man and as an eligible prince for the throne of Emperor.

"You know we could always lie and say it was you, I mean, honestly are we really talking about leaving survivors here?" asked Shachath, stepping away and causing Judal to fall from his resting post.

"That is true Hakuryuu, it's only illegal if you get caught." said Judal, after regaining his balance.

"MAKE READY!" screamed Shachath as he began cranking the wheel to the left and feeling the waves crashing against the bow of the _Dragon's Breath_ as it turned to broad-side. Hakuryuu looked menacingly at the group of ships and walked to the starboard side railing and leaned on it. "AIM!" screamed Shachath. Hakuryuu gripped the railing and dragged his nails along it, creating blatant scratch marks as he gritted his teeth at the ships and turned and looked down the length of the ship.

"Make them pay for not recognizing Kouen as their false prince." said Hakuryuu, just loud enough for Shachath and Judal to hear. Shachath smiled ear to ear laughing hard and pulling out his sword and pointing it at the cluster of Kou ships.

"FIRE!" he screamed, before a thunderous round of explosions was heard. Both Hakuryuu and Judal covered their ears immediately as each and every cannon on the starboard side of the _Dragon's Breath_ shot a volley of hot iron and splintering shrapnel into the bodies of each and every sailor on the Kou ships. Screams of agony and pain could be heard as Hakuryuu watched and gritted his teeth with a slight smile, removing his hands from his ears and watching as the three ships immediately began to catch fire, one of them exploding and sending loose bits of lumber and bodies onto its two counterparts.

Shachath fell into a stir of delight as he rolled all over his deck and bellowed with laughter as he heard the cracks and groans of the burning lumber as the masts of the Kou ships failed and began caving in on the ships that held them. He ran up to the railing just as the massive plume of smoke from the cannons began to rise to their level. He deeply inhaled the scent of gun powder and smoke as another of the three ships exploded into a mass of fire and screams while the third one stayed afloat, seemingly well.

"Amir, bring 'er about and lay her in irons! The rest of you, drag these blaspheme to their judgment!" screamed Shachath. The crew cheered again as they retrieved grappling hooks while the _Dragon's Breath_ was steered into the direction of the last floating, burning crippled ship. Hakuryuu and Judal both came to the starboard railing as the crewmen began hurling the hooks as far as they could. Most of them missed, however a few of them managed to latch onto their intended targets as their lines were pulled taught and the two ships began merging ever closer to one another. As the Kou ship came closer, more and more grappling hooks were thrown and this time a majority of them were able to attach themselves to the necessary pieces of the ship that were sticking out at just the right angle. As the ship grew closer, Hakuryuu and Judal could see just how large the _Dragon's Breath_ really was as it practically towered over the military ship from Kou, the horrified faces of the crew staring up at the two of them in shock and betrayal. Out of the corner of his eye, Shachath began to see that his loyal crew members were already starting to swing down onto the decks and fighting the soldiers of Kou. He stood up on the railing and gripped a length of rope tightly before surveying the deck for the officers of the ship. Upon seeing a man in a rather official looking uniform, he swung down and landed on the opposite side of the deck as him. Soldiers angrily struck at him with their swords and spears, and Shachath tilted and moved his body out of the way of each one, slamming his fist hard onto the chin of the closest Kou soldier he could get his hands on. Feeling his fingers sliding into the flesh of his victim, he gripped the soldier by the jaw and threw him into the soldier behind him and moaning sensually at the satisfying crunch that he heard their bodies make with one another. He turned his attention to the next Kou soldier who was already in the midst of swinging his sword down; Shachath caught the sword by the blade and squeezed it tightly, watching his blood ooze down his wrist and forearm. He looked down at the terrified soldier and smirked wildly as he bent down and kissed the man on the lips before slamming his knee into the the armored side of the _Dragon's Breath_.

"It feels so nice. My own blood, oozing and dripping all over this wretched piece of blasphemous driftwood; purifying it! More! I want more, strike me, stab me, tear at me, GIVE ME A HUG!" he screamed as he charged full on at the Kou Officer at the stern of the ship. Stomping his foot down and caving the already weakened deck in on itself, Shachath jumped up and over the railing and landed, by wrapping his legs around the officer and skidding to a halt on his back. He wrapped his hands around the man's throat and began to squeeze hard before looking up to the other decks. Watching his ravenous Jashinists killing and eating the Kou militants, Shachath put the officer into the deck before cracking his neck and twisting his face one hundred eighty degrees. As the remaining Kou soldiers watched their captain die painfully, they froze in absolute horror and dropped their weapons to their feet.

"That is what I like to see." said Shachath, holding the officers body over his shoulder and tossing it center-deck. The area around them now was quiet enough to hear a pin drop to the shattered deck which is why most of the remaining soldiers noticeably flinched when they heard their captain hitting the splintered wood with a fleshy thud "Now then, report!" shouted Shachath.

"Six men still alive sir the rest have either passed on to their judgment by our Unholy Father and are being made into dinner." shouted a feminine voice from further down the deck.

"Line them up and bring the prince and the magi down here as well." said Shachath, brushing off his hands and resting them on his hips. Judal levitated both himself and Hakuryuu down to the deck of the Kou ship, Hakuryuu looking around and watching as the Jashinists began feasting and steeling any goods that they could find below decks, and hauling it up to the _Dragon's Breath_. Shachath had picked up a dagger that he'd found and began shaving the hair on the sides of his head down and making the hair on the rear top of his head shorter before proceeding to make his hair longer to a point where he had a strand on the front right side of his head that reached all the way down to his collar bones. Throwing the dagger into a random Kou corpse he turned and looked at the two men and crossed his arms while pushing his hips out to one side.

"What do you plan on doing with them?" asked Hakuryuu.

"Well, seeing as all they have had in the means of having sex in the past century is each other, I would imagine that my crew would love to fuck something other than their cousins at this point." responded Shachath, the crew already responding with whoops of joy and laughter while whistling over at the six men most of them still in their twenties, the eldest of them looking about thirty while the youngest looked to be sixteen. All six men had a horrified look on their face as Shachath ran his tongue seductively across his lips at Hakuryuu and Judal, both of whom looked just as horrified as the crewmen.

"Y-you're not serious about this are you?" asked Hakuryuu.

"I don't know it sounds kind of reasonable to me." said Judal, earning himself a glare from Hakuryuu.

"Would you rather I just kill them and feed them to my crew?" asked Shachath in return.

"Um, somehow that's better." said Hakuryuu, as Judal shot a look to his king's candidate and then back to Shachath.

"Really? You would rather see them turned into food than remain alive?" asked Judal, almost laughing at this point.

"Okay, this was a mistake, I already see where this argument is heading." said Shachath turning around and looking upon the six Kou soldiers. "Gentlemen, I have a proposition for you. Dinner or sex?" asked Shachath. The six men looked around to one another and then back up to Shachath rather questioningly, even though they had heard every single word so far. "And before you rush into things, I figure it's fair to warn you that if you choose dinner, you will be the main course." said Shachath, smirking and giggling to himself.

"What about the sex?" asked one of the men who seemed a bit eager to keep living.

"Well, my crewmembers have had nothing to screw but each other for the past hundred years and if you let them take out their massive needs and urges on your bodies, they would probably be in a much better mood and maybe a bit more obedient. Although to be fully honest, I cannot guarantee that you will survive that option either 'cuz some of them seem to be a bit more eager than others." continued Shachath as more and more of his crew began to laugh and gather around the men, hunger of all types could be seen in their eyes.

"In exchange your dead will suffice as ample sustenance should you all choose to live." continued Shachath. The crewmen looked down before carefully examining one another as well as the mangled bodies of their dead. Shachath began tapping his foot softly, expecting an answer sooner rather than later. "Alright fine, if you survive the orgy, I will ensure that you are all dropped off at the nearest province thereafter." said Shachath, after letting out a depressed sigh. The six men still did not respond, however Shachath at least saw that he now had more attention towards himself now, looking down and seeing the youngest of the group beginning to cry softly to himself.

"Silence yourself private!" screamed the eldest man.

"Belay that private." ordered Shachath, who now had both the eldest and the youngest of the group staring into his eyes. "Tell me what's on your mind sweetheart."

"I-I wish to see m-my mom and dad ag-again." he said between sobs. Shachath cocked his head to the side before looking deep into his eyes and pacing towards him, pulling out one of his sais and crouching down in front of the sixteen year old. He had fair pale skin that was covered in muck and filth with dark brown eyes and black hair that fell just above his eyes out of his helmet. His armor was cracked and bloodied, falling off from a blade that looked like it had been dragged across it roughly.

"What's your name child?" asked Shachath.

"K-kouyin." said the teen.

"Well Kouyin, we do have a word for people like you who wish to live peacefully among us Jashinists, if that is what you so desire." said Shachath, earning sever eager nods from the young boy. Shachath smiled crookedly and cackled softly. "Convert." The boy grew wide eyed as a large group surrounded him with the same crooked smile as Shachath. "Learn to understand the pain of others and our unholy commandments and we will spare you all any further suffering in this life." said Shachath.

"Do not listen to that man private!" shouted the eldest of the men. Shachath paused mid-breath and looked over at him, who was looking down and into the deck. Shachath wrinkled his nose and ran a finger across a symmetrical piercing in the bridge of his nose before standing up and grabbing the man by the throat and lifting him off the deck.

"Do you not fear death my dear? Do you not wish to know the pain of others and earn yourself pride as a loyal child of Lord Jashin?" asked Shachath.

"I-I'll take my chances w-with the s-sea sir." said the man. Shachath raised his eyebrows and looked to Hakuryuu and Judal.

"Admirable." said Judal.

"I agree." said Shachath. "Someone make a note of this man's bravery." said Shachath, before squeezing tighter and watching as the Kou sailor slowly died in his hand, dropping him to the deck as his feet stopped twitching.

"Cruel bastard." mumbled one of the other Kou soldiers.

"Existence itself is cruel." responded Shachath. "Do you believe that your afterlife will be anything different? True it may be that you will not be transported directly to the Plane of Jashin at first, you must accept that it will eventually happen. And upon arriving, you will be exposed to an eternity of pain and suffering beyond your very comprehension of the words. That is why I beg of you to join us in our worship and practices. It is not too late for you all to be spared the love of Lord Jashin, as well as earn the rewards for His love." said Shachath, before taking his sai and slitting his own throat and spraying the remaining five men with his blood. They looked at him with disgusted and horrified faces as he fell to his knees and then slowly but surely began to stand back up as the cut on his neck began to heal itself before their eyes. Before any of them knew it the blood had stopped and Shachath was already back on his feet; both Hakuryuu and Judal stared in bewilderment, somewhat lust as well for Judal, as Shachath demonstrated his acquired abilities. Immediately the men in front of them bowed their heads and submitted themselves to Shachath.

"We pledge ourselves to your teachings great one. What may we address you as, in our new heightened levels of existence that you have allowed us access to." muttered one of the men in the middle of the group. Shachath grinned ear to ear again and rubbed his sore neck as he sheathed the blade.

"I am your high priest, and it is my best interest that you know your place in the Cult of Jashin as newly christened members of our rather… peculiar family." said Shachath, turning around and looking upon his faithful. "Brothers and sisters, look upon your new siblings. They have graciously pledged allegiance to Lord Jashin under the banner of the House of Shachath! Help me to teach them our ways so that they may better understand the pain of others. Help me guide them along a more righteous path so that we may scorn this world that was built upon the shoulders of a false deity! Allow them error and mistakes for they are newly reborn into our ways of life in my eyes, as well as the eyes of Lord Jashin!" shouted Shachath. A few of the Jashinists around them began to sigh and moan about wasted opportunities before Shachath began to speak once more. "And…educate them, on what it means to truly feel pain before they decide to commit blasphemy by inflicting it on others." said Shachath, earning the rowdy and rabid cries of his crew members once more; the five men looked at one another with worried expressions as Shachath looked back at them and once again drew his tongue seductively across his lips again.

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 **Here is where we must draw to a close for the day. If I could please hear more feedback as to how you're all liking the story, I would very much appreciate it. In the mean time, I look forward to seeing you all in the next one.**


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